- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- European, US markets wobble awaiting Santa rally
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Sweden says China blocked prosecutors' probe of ship linked to cut cables
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Beyond Work Unveils Next-Generation Memory-Augmented AI Agent (MATRIX) for Enterprise Document Intelligence
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Stellantis backtracks on plan to lay off 1,100 at US Jeep plant
- Banned Russian skater Valieva stars at Moscow ice gala
- Biden signs funding bill to avert government shutdown
- Sorrow and fury in German town after Christmas market attack
- France's most powerful nuclear reactor finally comes on stream
- Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
- Amazon says US strike caused 'no disruptions'
- Qualcomm scores key win in licensing dispute with Arm
- Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
- US approves first drug treatment for sleep apnea
- Amazon expects no disruptions as US strike goes into 2nd day
- US confirms billions in chips funds to Samsung, Texas Instruments
- Wall Street rebounds despite US inflation ticking higher
Global stocks mostly fall, bitcoin soars to new peak
Global shares mostly retreated Monday as markets awaited a Federal Reserve interest rate decision while concerns over political battles in Europe and China's struggling economy pressured equities.
The Nasdaq was the day's outperformer, surging more than one percent to a fresh all-time high behind big gains for Broadcom, Google-parent Alphabet and other tech names.
But the Dow fell, along with bourses in Europe and Asia as traders fretted over political instability in France and Germany.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, hit a new record high, reaching $107,115.89 as it continues to gain support from Donald Trump's backing of cryptocurrencies.
Investors are turning their attention to Wednesday's US Federal Reserve decision on borrowing costs at its last policy meeting of the year before Trump takes office next month.
The Fed is widely expected to cut its key lending rate for a third straight time, reducing it by a quarter point despite a recent uptick in inflation.
But there are fears it will have to slow its pace of easing next year owing to sticky inflation and bets that Trump's tax cuts and tariffs will reignite price increases.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading platform XTB, said that there would be "an elephant in the room" at the Fed meeting.
"How to accurately forecast economic activity and inflation rates, when the President-elect's policies are expected to have a huge economic impact and could trigger more inflation?" she wrote.
- China and Europe worries -
Investors also tracked data showing that Chinese retail sales grew 3.0 percent last month, much slower than in October and well off the five percent forecast.
Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets closed lower after the data release while oil prices fell slightly on concerns over Chinese demand.
Chinese officials have unveiled a string of aggressive measures in recent months aimed at bolstering growth in the world's second-biggest economy.
In Europe, the Paris stock market fell 0.7 percent after Moody's downgraded France's credit rating Saturday following months of political crisis and the appointment of centrist Francois Bayrou as prime minister.
"The market is likely to watch closely to see how the political problems in France affect sentiment in the German economy," said Jochen Stanzl, an analyst at CMC Markets.
Frankfurt slid 0.5 percent as Germany's embattled center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, triggering elections set for February 23.
The European Central Bank cut rates again last week as inflation appears to come under control and the eurozone economy shows signs of weakness.
ECB chief Christine Lagarde said Monday that the bank would keep lowering interest rates, while warning that higher US tariffs under Trump could hit growth in the bloc.
A closely watched survey released Monday showed that business activity declined further in the eurozone in December, though less sharply than the previous month thanks to an upturn in the services sector.
- Key figures around 2210 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 43,717.48 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 6,074.08 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.2 percent at 20,173.89 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,357.08 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 20,313.81 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,262.05 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,457.49 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 19,795.49 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,386.33 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0509 from $1.0501 from Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2678 from $1.2619
Dollar/yen: UP at 154.13 yen from 153.65 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.86 pence from 83.22 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $70.71 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $73.91 per barrel
A.Agostinelli--CPN